ECCA National Cross Country Relay, Berry Hill Park, Mansfield

Autumn Gold

Course record smashed as Bels win National Cross Country Relay

Jonathan Blackledge, fastest of our 'B' team runners, gained five places on the third leg. The B team clocked a time which would have won several of the recent editions of the championship, and beat the A teams from Sale, Birchfield, Hallamshire and Shaftesbury. They were the first B team home.

The autumnal hues of 2003 have been, perhaps, the best in living memory; but for Belgrave fans the golden foliage has been more than matched by the medals won by our outstanding distance runners over the last two months. From Surrey and Southern Road Relays, and the AAA 10km through to AAA 6-Stage and finally the National Cross Country Relay at Berry Hill Park, it has been a truly golden autumn.

We've never ever medalled in the sixteen year history of this event. In fact, to our shame, we have only ever attempted the race once - in 1996 - when our team of Graham Adams, Matt Yates, Darren Mead and Gary Staines set an outstanding time of 1:00:49 but could only reach 5th place. That year the individual record of 14:32 for the two lap 5km course was set by Coventry's Glyn Tromans and both Morpeth and Coventry clocked a team time of 59:56 which has stood since as the team record, although an international Australian quartet once ran as guests in the 59:20 region.

Stage 1

The day started off with fine rain in the air and although the damp subsided, it remained cold throughout. In these conditions Stephen Sharp lined up with well over 100 others, a little nervous that there had been several fallers at the start of earlier races. But he was away well, unlike Will Cockerell whose attention was distracted by an announcement over the public address system at the very time the starter chose to discharge his pistol! Soon Steve Vernon of Stockport, a man in great recent form, and our own Stephen, were drifting away from the bunch. One couldn't help remarking on the stylish running of Stephen. He seemed to float over the ground and as the pair cornered and accelerated together through the twisting woodland paths, feet and breathing hardly making a sound, their duel became almost trancelike.

Vernon just held the upper hand as the first takeover was approached but with a sub-15 performance and Stockport expected to drop away, we had been given a tremendous start.

Stage 2

Away went "Spenny" and within a few hundred metres he was past Stockport's runner and determinedly opening up the gap for us as he has done before so many times. Behind him, course record holder Glyn Tromans was in hot pursuit. Having taken over in 6th the Coventry man was possibly closing down on Spencer as he moved his team into second. Out for the second circuit, however, and it could be seen that our man had judged his race perfectly. The gap opened again and when times were later perused we noted that both had run an identical 14:46. Birchfield had now moved into 3rd and Aldershot, seen as our most likely rivals with Chris Thompson due to go on the last stage, were nearly a minute adrift.

For the Bs, Richard Ward revelled in the situation of having runners neatly lined up ahead of him and he disposed of eleven men while moving his team into the top twenty, overtaking Bingley's and Aldershot's B teams to place us first B team in the race.

Stage 3

Just as Martin Dent had sustained an injury the week before the six stage, so did Paul Freary on the Thursday before this race. While out training he had caught his feet in a loop of wire camouflaged by a drift of leaves and fallen heavily to the ground, badly grazing elbows and hands and sustaining a severe cut to the chin that required stitches at the local hospital. So it was an unshaven and tetanus jabbed Freary that stood in the takeover pen awaiting his team-mate.

Our lead of 11 seconds immediately began to increase as Coventry dropped away and Paul maintained our momentum. Morpeth were now making their presence felt as they moved into third but it was Trafford gaining the most ground as Riley set a new course record of 14:25 to take his team to second - 21 seconds behind the Bels.

It was up another five places for the Bs as the youngest man in our team, Jonathan Blackledge, disposed of some well known names on the distance running scene to move us up to 14th.

Stage 4

Surely now the race was ours. There was no way that AFD's Thompson could gain a minute on David Anderson but one target remaining for the Bels was the course record. We were timed at 44:54 with three laps gone and needed a final effort of 15:01 from the man dubbed by AW as "Geordie" Anderson.

No trouble! In spite of being out on his own David clocked a fearsome 14:42 to beat Gary Staines' club best and the record and title were ours. Morpeth's Mark Hudspith overtook Trafford and then faced a terrific onslaught from Thompson, just holding the Aldershot man off in spite of an outstanding 14:18 for yet another improvement on the individual record. The record had stood for six years before Riley's improvement but his own reign as record holder was less than a quarter of an hour.

Yet again the B team advanced. Royal Marine bandsman Tim Watson enjoyed his first outing in a Belgrave squad and as he moved his team into 13th with a time just 1 second down on Jonathan's we noted that their combined time was faster than three winning times in the last six years.

1 Belgrave 59:36 (record); 2 Morpeth H &AC 1:00:14; 3 Aldershot F&D AC 1:00:15; 4 Salford H 1:01:05; 5 Trafford AC 1:01:09; 6 Bedford & County 1:01:30; 13 Belgrave H 'B' 1:02:10; 127 teams started, 101 teams finished.

Belgrave teams:

A - S.Sharp (2) 14:56; S.Barden (1) 14:46; 3 P.Freary (1) 15:12; David Anderson (1) 14:42.
B - W.Cockerell (30) 15:54; R.Ward (19) 15:31; J.Blackledge U20 (14) 15:22; T.Watson (13) 15:23.

Fastest: C.Thompson (record) 14:18; P.Riley (Trafford) 14:25; M.Skinner (Blackheath) 14:39; David Anderson 14:42; G.Reid (Trafford) 14:44; =6 S.Barden (Belgrave) & G.Tromans (Coventry Godiva) 14:46.

Restored from the club's earlier website, belgraveharriers.com, and published here as originally written.